January 29, 2023 - Fear As Fuel

And IN THAT TIME - David would go out to a city of the Philistines = and LAY WASTE to it…killing all men and women…and bringing back the livestock with him.

And then he would come back - and Achish would ask him - where did you go FIGHT today...

And DAVID WOULD LIE - and say that he went out and fought the Jews.

WOW!

Following THAT - this is where we pick up today...

1 Samuel 28:1–20 ESV

1 In those days the Philistines gathered their forces for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Understand that you and your men are to go out with me in the army.” 2 David said to Achish, “Very well, you shall know what your servant can do.” And Achish said to David, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.” 3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land. 4 The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. 7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.” 8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.” 9 The woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?” 10 But Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” 11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.” 13 The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” 14 He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage. 15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.” 16 And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. 18 Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. 19 Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.” 20 Then Saul fell at once full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night.

So - this chapter begins - SHOCKINGLY - with war on the minds of the people...

The Philistines are gathering for war with Israel...

And as this builds - SAUL finds himself - AFRAID

1 Samuel 28:5 ESV

5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

Now what I want to do FIRST today - is to JUMP AHEAD in our text - to see where THIS FEAR of Saul - is ROOTED.

Samuel ends up speaking to a medium (someone who talked to the spirits) and by doing that - he ends up speaking with Samuel...

What does Samuel say to him - and how does Saul respond?

1 Samuel 28:19–20 ESV

19 Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.” 20 Then Saul fell at once full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night.

NOW - we’re FOCUSING on the FEAR of Saul...

Where was it ROOTED?

It was rooted in - DEATH...

It was ROOTED in - the GRAVE!

AGAIN - sound familiar?

We just talked about it - How did the world respond to - COVID?

Same way!

The world - GASPED - and FELL on it’s FACE

Put a mask on...

GET BACK!

CLOSE IT DOWN!!

OK - so we KNOW where his FEAR was rooted - NOW - with that established...

Let’s get back to our text…back to v5

1 Samuel 28:5 ESV

5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

NOW - what would YOU do in this situation? (we all know who we are - some people are afraid of HEIGHTS / SPIDERS / Baby Dolls

You’re EXTREMELY fearful!

What does Saul do?

1 Samuel 28:6 ESV

6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.

Saul TRIED!

But ALL lines were - Busy! (URIM - an instrument sanctioned in the Jewish religion to help receive communication from God).

No response from the Lord!

And so NO DOUBT - this led to MORE FEAR in Saul...

But FEAR ROOTED in what?

We know it was rooted in - DEATH!

And so where does THAT fear lead Saul? - - Where does that fear FUEL him?

next verse...

1 Samuel 28:7 ESV

7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.”

What do we see here?

REMEMBER - Saul’s FEAR was rooted in - Death…and so...

SLIDE: Without Fear In God: Fear Fuels Us Toward Disobedience

Without Fear In God

See - when ANYTHING other than God is what we FEAR most…then the OPPOSITE of what we FEAR - will become our god...

What does THAT mean?

If Leadership is what I fear most - then APATHY will become my god.

If fellowship is what i fear most - then ISOLATION will become my god.

If poverty is what I FEAR most - then MONEY will become my god.

If IRRELEVANCE is what i fear most - then PRAISE will become my god.

If loneliness is what i fear most - then FAMILY will become my god.

I think you get it...

NOW - when ANYTHING OTHER than God is our god...

SIN will be our path to worship.

Saul here - as we know - was FEARFUL of DEATH...

and so PHYSICAL LIFE was his - god!

Well - he was thinking he may LOSE his physical life…his god...

So what THEN becomes an option for him?

SIN!

And so he ends up REACHING out to a MEDIUM...

NOW - first thing - THE IRONY...

If we just go back and reread the early portion of our text today - we read this...

1 Samuel 28:3 ESV

3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land.

Ok, so Samuel had died - and Saul does something...

He removes all mediums and necromancers from the land...

The thought being - they didn’t want any of these mediums to CONTACT Samuel…who had died.

Now - pretty ironic that Saul then TRIES to CONTACT a medium...

But even deeper than this - is the Divine mandate against such things...

Exodus 22:18 ESV

18 “You shall not permit a sorceress to live.

Leviticus 19:31 ESV

31 “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.

Leviticus 20:27 ESV

27 “A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them.”

Deuteronomy 18:10–11 ESV

10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead,

Seems pretty clear no?

God has SPOKEN - and His word is final.

Saul KNEW THIS!

Then why did he pursue a Medium?

Why did he sin?

Because - Without FEAR in GOD - our fear will FUEL us toward disobedience!

We will SEEK to DEFEND our god - (in this case - LIFE) and we will do WHATEVER we think we need to do - to PROTECT our god...

KNOW THIS:

Our obedience flows from our fear, which bows to our (G)god.

Fear is WOVEN into our obedience!

Proverbs 9:10 ESV

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

SAUL CHOSE SIN...

Which means - there was no FEAR of the Lord...

Just FEAR of death.

And THAT fear - fueled him to disobey!

An example of this in scripture is found in

Acts 5:1–3 ESV

1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?

Ananias and Sapphira FEARED poverty more than God...

Where did that get them?

They both died that day...

How about the Israelites in the wilderness?

They FEARED physical death MORE than God...

Exodus 14:11–12 ESV

11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

The Israelites would RATHER - Serve the Egyptians...

Than to TRUST GOD and worship Him!

They FEARED - death - MORE than they feared the Lord!!

Exodus 14:13–14 ESV

13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Moses says - BE SILENT - FEAR GOD - not Pharaoh…and the LORD will SAVE YOU!

Without Fear in God - Fear will Fuel us Toward Disobedience!

Back to our text...

1 Samuel 28:7–8 ESV

7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.” 8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.”

Isn’t it interesting (v8) - even back then politicians (those in charge) refused to live under the laws they created.

So Saul here - FEARFUL of death - defends his IDOL of physical life - and chooses to SIN to defend it!

But there’s something ELSE going on here!

REMEMBER - Saul ORIGINALLY inquired of the LORD...

What happened?

No response!

God didn’t respond!

SO - NOW - Saul is taking another path...

He seeks out a MEDIUM...

BUT - did he do this just so he could speak with - THE MEDIUM?

NO - He did this so he could speak with - who?

Samuel!

Should we STOP there?

NO - I contend that he didn’t ultimately come to the Medium so he could speak with Samuel!

I BELIEVE - that he came to the Medium, so he could speak with Samuel…SO HE COULD HEAR from - God!

Saul KNEW who Samuel was!

And since GOD had NOT responded to him...

“by way of dreams, the Urim, or by the prophets...

Let’s TRY - a DEAD prophet!

Saul was STILL trying to HEAR from God....except this time - He was TAKING the path of SIN to get there!

God originally wouldn’t respond - And so Saul thinks ...

OK - I’ll try coming through the back door!

What was SAUL ultimately after??

He was AFRAID that the Philistines would - KILL HIM...

SO here’s what he wanted! - And based on how Saul has dealt with God throughout this book...

Here’s what he wanted!

He wanted to hear from God as Savior - But NOT hear from God as Lord!

And so we need to know this...

SLIDE: Without Fear In God: Fear Fuels Us To Embrace Jesus as Savior But Not As Lord

Without Fear In God

Throughout this book we’ve seen SAUL establish a PATTERN for himself...

It’s a PATTERN of Disobedience!

Over and OVER again - we find Saul - CHOOSING to not LISTEN to God as LORD of his life!

He repeatedly rebelled against God’s RULE over him…!

And so what we end up seeing in Saul - is a man - who ...

Shuns God’s RULING HAND - WHILE REACHING out for God’s SAVING hand...

Practically speaking - we have a man here who...

Wants God to rescue him, while he lives a life of sin.

And it points to people who treat Jesus like a “Get Out of Hell Card”.

You mean - LOVE THIS?

Cherish THIS?

OBEY THIS?

lol - What? - - I just want to go to heaven that’s all!

This was SAUL…!

He lived a life of disobedience....but wanted God’s blessing!!

And OH HOW interesting it is - that Saul is a direct reflection of the people he ruled over! - Israel

Remember when Israel lost one of the initial battles with the Philistines...

= They decide to bring the Ark of the Covenant close by (among them)...

THINKING it would bring them victory.

And so - WHILE living their lives of DISOBEDIENCE (serving other gods)

They think BRINGING the Ark of the Covenant to them would BRING them blessing! - A VICTORY!

We won’t OBEY God - but bring Him close and we’ll WIN...

We’ll STAY ALIVE!!

We must be careful… We must ask ourselves...

Do I embrace Jesus as LORD AND SAVIOR?

2 Peter 3:18 ESV

18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Philippians 3:20 ESV

20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

These aren’t throw-away words...

Do you see the articles used with Jesus here?

“A” Savior - - THE Lord Jesus…!

2 Different things...

THE Lord - IS THE LORD....AND He saves!

How about you? - Are you like Saul?

Shunning the RULING hand of Jesus… (shunning - Jesus THE Lord)

WHILE REACHING for His saving hand? (Jesus As Savior)

WHILE reaching for His GIFT GIVING hand?

Shunning His RULING Hand…while reaching for His blessings?

Listen - Where your FEAR is rooted - has something to DO with that!

FEAR GOD - and embrace BOTH of His hands...

Fear GOD - and embrace Jesus AS LORD and AS SAVIOR!

And you might say - Well who’s an example of someone in scripture - who was ONLY interested in Jesus as Savior…but NOT interested in Jesus as LORD?

For one - Saul...

ANOTHER?

The Rich young ruler!

Remember? - He came to Jesus asking “What must I do to inherit Eternal Life?”

What did he address Jesus as? LORD?

No - TEACHER!

And what happened when Jesus spoke to him like He WAS LORD....telling him to sell all he had and FOLLOW HIM?

He WALKED away SAD!

He wanted - ETERNAL LIFE...

He wanted RESCUED!

But didn’t want to FALL UNDER the RULE of King Jesus!

Jesus as LORD - NO

Jesus as Savior - YES!

Jesus - obviously - wasn’t interested in merely being a LIFE PRESERVER

NO - he is LORD of LORDS and...

[[[ EVERY ]]] knee will BOW before Him.

Fear is a part of that.

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.

BUT without FEAR in God:

That Fear Will Fuel Us Toward Disobedience

That Fear Will Fuel Us Toward Embracing Jesus as Savior But Not As Lord

BUT we keep going...

1 Samuel 28:8–9 ESV

8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.” 9 The woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?”

The Medium here - doesn’t KNOW it’s Saul - BUT WHAT SHE DOES know - is that this act that she’s being asked to perform - is AGAINST the LAW…!

And that her LIFE is on the line!

She’s DOUBTING whether she should OBLIGE this man!

Saul’s PLAN is about to FALL APART...

He’s ABOUT to lose his only hope of GETTING an answer from God!

So what does he do?

1 Samuel 28:10 ESV

10 But Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”

What do we see here?

SLIDE: Without Fear In God: Fear Fuels Us To Use God For Our Purposes

Without Fear In God

Back to v10

1 Samuel 28:10 ESV

10 But Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”

Don’t forget the CONTEXT here...

Saul is busy carrying out this act of SIN...

And when it SEEMS like this ACT might not happen...

What does Saul do?

Saul ASSURES this lady that she won’t DIE...

HOW - he SWORE - ON THE NAME of the Lord…that she wouldn’t be put to death!

“AS the LORD lives - you will NOT be harmed!”

So SAUL - WHILE DISOBEYING God...

INVOKES GOD -

Invokes the EXISTENCE of God - to HELP this women feel at ease...

SO THAT she’ll carry out Saul’s purposes!!

And if we are MORE FEARFUL in things OUTSIDE of GOD - our fear will FUEL us to do the same thing!

We will USE GOD for our purposes!

Our own GENIE in a bottle!

Think thru what Saul did...

He was in an ACTIVE state of rebellion against God...

Called on a Medium...

And in order for that medium to DO HER THING...

Saul POINTS HER to - Rest in the Existence of God...

That - AS SURE as God LIVES - she wouldn’t be harmed.

Saul USED GOD - so he could carry out this act of sin!

*How about us?

See - this is why CONFESSING our sins is so important!

How many times have we become LAXXED in confessing our sins - and then WE FIND OURSELVES calling on the Lord when trouble comes?

How many times have we gone through seasons of NEGLECTING our call to engage the MISSION of Christ - and yet while in that season - PRAYING for...

Health

Finances

Relationships

Situations

AND AGAIN - Where our FEAR is ROOTED - plays a part in this!

If I have a HEALTHY FEAR of the Lord - then I will be MORE APT to confess my sins…

But if POVERTY is my BIGGEST fear…then I’ll be more apt to WORK LONGER HOURS - make my spouse miserable…AND NOT CARE ABOUT THAT...

Because I’m too busy makin money! = bowing to my idol!

Where is your FEAR rooted?

For SAUL - it was rooted in Death...

Back to v10

1 Samuel 28:10–18 ESV

10 But Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” 11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.” 13 The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” 14 He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage. 15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.” 16 And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. 18 Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day.

Alright - so Samuel (dead Samuel) - comes back and speaks to Saul...

And says - Why are you wanting to TALK TO ME - if God has turned from you?

Samuel is saying - You know I speak FOR GOD - so if God isn’t speaking for you…why come talk to ME?

Nonetheless - Samuel gives Saul some helpful information!

What does this verse here (18) say?

Because you did not OBEY the Lord - Here WE ARE!

OH - and before you leave - he says - KNOW THIS...

next verse

1 Samuel 28:19 ESV

WOW - Saul came looking for HELP - and instead he hears that he’s going to DIE the next day!

Pretty heavy stuff yes?

But WHAT’s his reaction to this news?

next verse

1 Samuel 28:20 ESV

20 Then Saul fell at once full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night.

Saul hears that he’s GOING to DIE...

and in HEARING - HIS BIGGEST fear will come true...

He what?

He falls - FACE to the ground!

IN absolute FEAR!

FEAR of Death!

What have we seen today?

SUMMARY

Without Fear In God

Fear Fuels Us Toward Disobedience

Fear Fuels Us To Embrace Jesus as Savior But Not As Lord

Fear Fuels Us To Use God For Our Purposes

Without Fear in God: Fear Fuels Us Toward Disobedience

When we FEAR the world / man / death / loneliness / poverty / MORE than we FEAR God - our fear will LEAD us down the path of sin.

Fearing Death MORE than God will cause me to STAY inside the BOAT instead of GETTING OUT of the boat and ONTO the waves.

Fearing SINGLENESS MORE than God will cause me to NOT become a MISSIONARY as a young man or woman

Fearing Ridicule MORE than God will cause me to NOT go into MINISTRY… or LEAD that ministry

Without Fear In God: Fear Fuels Us To Embrace Jesus as Savior But Not As Lord

When we fear anything OTHER than God - MORE than God - we can find ourselves SHUNNING Jesus as LORD - yet seeking His blessings.

Fearing POVERTY more than God - can cause me to find myself LYING on my taxes - WHILE still praying that God would bless me financially!

Without Fear In God: Fear Fuels Us To Use God For Our Purposes

When we fear anything OTHER than God - more than God - we will find ourselves USING God for our own purposes!

Calling on God to save our family member or friend - WHILE we ignore telling them the TRUTH about - THEM in light of God!

MEN - calling on God to bless our families while we ignore leading them spiritually…or pursuing God in life.

WOMEN - calling on God to bless our families while we war against our husbands who are TRYING to lead but NOT EXACTLY doing it how you would want it done.

TODAY we’ve seen how IMPORTANT FEAR IS - in the Christian life...

And LISTEN - ALL of HUMANITY must deal with this truth.

Listen to God’s JUDGMENT on Mankind...

Romans 3:10–17 ESV

10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.”

From HEAD to TOE - man is CORRUPT

NO ROOM for goodness

NO ROOM for RATIONAL thought

NO ROOM for self-reflection!

NO ROOM for Better Choices!

NONE - No ONE SEEKS for God - No ONE understands!

WHY?

v18

Romans 3:18 ESV

18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

As we look at Saul today - The question for us is...

Where is my FEAR rooted?

In God? or In the World?

When Saul heard he was going to DIE the next day - He HIT THE GROUND in FEAR...

MAY WE - be a people WHO - live our lives - FOREVER on our faces before the LORD

seeking to glorify HIM above all things!

The FEAR of the Lord is the beginning of WISDOM!

Let’s pray

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